Photo And Curios Exhibit Remembers Mayor Washington

Recreating Mayor Harold Washington`s style of politics has eluded many elected officials. In the few years since his death, it has become apparent that his personality and political gifts were unique.

That sense of uniqueness was the inspiration for ``The Washington Years:

1983-1987,`` currently on view at the Du Sable Museum of African American History. It is an exhibition, mounted in time for Black History Month, of curios and personal memorabilia from his office and apartment and of photographs that attempt to capture the essence of the individual. These objects enable visitors to the museum to get a little closer to the late mayor.

The photos that have been chosen, and enlarged on panels for this exhibition, may be familiar to many people who followed the mayor during his years in office. They show him, mostly smiling, as he greeted crowds in neighborhoods and marched in the St. Patrick`s Day Parade. They are accompanied by excerpts from speeches that he gave while campaigning and while in office.

Washington is shown smiling even in a photo of his 1983 campaign stop at St. Pascal`s Church, where he was jeered by disruptive supporters of his opponent, Bernard Epton. But beyond the mayor`s good nature, there is a serious side to this exhibition, as shown through quotes for which Washington may be remembered. ``There is no limit to what we can accomplish if we recognize that there is more that unites us that divides us,`` is one label that accompanies a photo.

Washington was regarded as an intensely private man. This exhibition suggests that we know little of his personal life because his public life was so all-consuming. Whatever the truth, this collection of memorabilia reflects a man who truly loved his public role. One of the more interesting pieces is a carving given him by Maori tribesmen when the ``Te Maori`` exhibition opened at the Field Museum in 1976. The mayor kept it in his office at City Hall. ``I think he thought of it as a protective piece,`` says Ramon Price, Washington`s brother and exhibit curator.

Price explains that the mayor had particular affection for many pieces on display. A small stone sculpture, similar in form to the Assyrian Winged Bull at Chicago`s Oriental Institute, was a favorite. The image of the bull was his birth sign.

The rolltop desk that was in the mayor`s apartment, at 5300 South Shore Drive, is also here, and in the first week of the exhibition, Price noticed that many people were touching drawer handles and the desk`s top. By strict museum standards, this is usually taboo. But Price`s feelings about this piece, which is not fragile, are different. ``I`m not so sure I don`t want people to touch it,`` he says. ``It seems that people just want to lay their hands on something that calls to mind a point in time that is worth trying to rekindle.``

These and other objects, which are the property of the late mayor`s family, will remain at the Du Sable for several months and may then tour to different library branches throughout the Chicago Public Library system. Ultimately, says Price, they will reside in a room set aside at the new main library, called the Harold Washington Library Center.

``The Washington Years: 1983-1987`` is on view at the Du Sable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $2 for adults and is free on Thursdays. For information call 947-0600.

- - -

At the Spertus Museum of Judaica, 618 S. Michigan Ave., ``The Legacy of Bezalel: The Israeli Arts and Crafts Movement`` is an exhibition of art objects made at Jerusalem`s Bezalel School, the most important arts academy in Israel. This show, which focuses on the period 1906-1929, consists mostly of religious objects that reveal a style akin to the arts and crafts movement in America and art nouveau in Europe. One of the most striking pieces is a Torah ark of hammered brass, enamel, cloisonne and silver filigree.

Shown simultaneously is ``Faces and Objects: Recent Israeli Design,``

with examples of recent graphics, ceramics and industrial design from the Bezalel School. Named for the biblical artisan who decorated the Ark of the Covenant-cited in Exodus-Bezalel has focused on developing distinctly Jewish art for the new Jewish state. These two exhibitions run through April 8. For information call the museum at 922-9012.